I'm Jake.

I deliver collaborative art projects shaped by the people I work with and the places we work in

My work spans film, performance, photography, visual art and installation, creating playful, participatory experiences that celebrate creativity, voice, and difference.

Projects

Here’s a selection of recent and past projects that give a sense of the kind of work I do - ranging from filmmaking and visual art to performance and creative education.

As Colourful As...

Theatre Porto

This was a creative project involving nine workshops through six primary schools in Ellesmere Port. Children explored their own unique qualities by crafting playful, imaginative similes - vivid comparisons that capture who they are in fun and unexpected ways.

From “I am as silly as an elephant on a skateboard” to “I am as bold as the sun,” these words became the inspiration for bold, collages made from coloured paper, scissors, and glue. Each collage expresses the energy, colour, and personality behind the simile it represents.

The project culminated in a large-scale mural that I installed in the stairwell and foyer of Theatre Porto. A selection of the children’s original artworks was carefully recreated in vinyl to create a vibrant, swirling piece that celebrates children’s voices and creativity, making their ideas visible in a public space dedicated to children and young people.

Thee mural stands as a joyful reminder of the power of play, imagination, and self-expression - and the importance of giving children a place to be heard and seen.

9Bach

I produced the visuals for 9 Bach's 2025 tour and directed and edited a live film of their gig at Neaudd Ogwen, Bethesda

You Me and Everything

Theatre Porto

You, Me and Everything is a mobile sculpture that was made during workshops with 10 schools. During the workshops we playfully explored the importance of interpersonal connections and their effect of our wellbeing. Then the children made 3D models of their own personal networks - that all became one big interconnected community cloud hanging in the theatre’s stairwell.

It hung next to it's companion exhibition - Free Family Photos.

Genesis - Creative Enquiry

Arts Council for Wales
Blessed William Davies Catholic Primary School

This was a Creative Learning Cymru project. I was commissioned to lead an enquiry-based arts project exploring the themes of The Book of Genesis and how we can bring creativity to religious education. This was with a class of 36 year 1&2 children.

I chose to focus on exploring and investigating the physical world - light, water, sky, land, birds, animals, people considering the marvel of creation, and the ethical questions arising from our custodianship of the earth.

Dino and the Freaks

Theatre Porto

Made with the Young Creatives group at Theatre Porto to celebrate the opening of the theatre. Participants, many of whom were neurodiverse, reflected on what being part of a creative community means to them.

Music facilitated by James Lyons.

Once Upon a Time

Theatre Porto

Once Upon a Time was a growing, collaborative installation that transformed a theatre space into an enchanted forest. It began with 670 lengths of string suspended from the ceiling, waiting to be filled. Throughout the week, visitors were invited to create delicate leaves from tracing paper and oil pastels, then pin them to the strings. As more leaves appeared, the space gradually blossomed into a shimmering, storybook woodland.

A beautiful original score by composer Patrick Dineen accompanied the transformation, weaving together musical echoes of classic fairytales.

I hosted the experience in character as the Keeper of the Forest – a slightly mysterious, storytelling figure who welcomed children and families, guided them in making their leaves, and spun curious tales about the magical creatures hiding deep within the trees.

Bodafon Creative Enquiry

Arts Council for Wales / Ysgol Bodafon Llandudno

The creative enquiry asked the question: What is the impact of using creative practices to enhance Numeracy, IT and Cymraeg on a group of Year 1 and Year 2 pupils?

Working collaboratively with artist Seren Davies we used games, drama, music, dance, arts and crafts, storytelling, video, cookery and procession to explore the ways we can embed learning into different arts activities.

The final products created were a video of the process (that can't be shared here for safeguarding/permissions reasons) and a storybook. The children devised the story and artwork that collated into a children's storybook.

Jumpstart

Tate Galleries

Jumpstart was a course for NEET young people who wanted to develop a career in the creative industries that that I developed and delivered for Tate Liverpool. During the project, young people explored the collection, took part in hands-on activities that developed skills in project planning, teamwork, marketing and creative practice.

Participants also worked together to create a participatory arts pop-up in the gallery space.

Free Family Photos

Theatre Porto.

I set up a photographic studio in a shopping centre, a library, a market hall, and at Theatre Porto's Family Hangout, and gave free photo shoots to over fifty families. These formed a companion exhibition to You, Me and Everything

O.K. The Musical

Tate Galleries

O.K. – The Musical is an evolving community theatre musical based around the history and lore of Kinderhook, a small, somewhat obscure town in upstate New York. Written and directed by Christopher Kline.

To watch the documentary in full, please click the link in the description above.

This iteration of the piece took place in Tate Liverpool 2017 over 7 weeks. I was head of the media team, overseeing the documentation of the piece with photography and video - directing and editing this documentary.

Technically, Creative

Theatre Porto

Technically, Creative is a half-term activity that offers young people the opportunity to explore key aspects of theatre and film production, coming together to create an technical, immersive installation.

As the lead artist, I work with other artists, technicians, and participants to explore stage lighting, video production, sound design, music technology, and set design.

The project focuses on hands-on learning, creativity, and collaboration. Participants engage directly with professionals, gaining practical skills and insight into the processes that bring a technical performance to life. Through this experience, they build confidence, develop their creativity, and see their ideas come together in a final installation.

With a focus on participation, every individual plays a part in creating the installation, combining technical expertise with imaginative storytelling.

PortManteau

I facilitated this project with Theatre Porto’s Young Creatives, supporting them to write, perform and film a series of original monologues. Each short piece was inspired by a specific location in Ellesmere Port and shaped around the idea that the character was at a stopping place in their journey - pausing, reflecting, or preparing for what comes next.

Please click the link in the description above to view the films.

DNACPR and ME

People First Merseyside

This project was devised with members of People First Merseyside to inform other people with learning disabilities about DNACPR. I worked with the group to develop the script, and directed the film. Animation by Mandy Lally.

To watch the film on YouTube, please click the link above in the description.

Peculiar Streets

Theatre Porto

Working with five schools across Ellesmere Port, I encouraged children to think about what makes us all different - our talents, quirks, likes and dislikes, ambitions and appearance - and to make a peculiar portrait of themselves, setting it in a peculiar street filled. Large-scale banners were exhibited at "Porto's Peculiar Playground' a post-covid outdoor arts trail at Theatre Porto. They were later used by the local council as vinyls in shop windows around the town centre. I also created an animation, traveling along the streets that the children had created.

Wonder Classrooms

Theatre Porto

Wonder Classrooms was delivered in schools and involved a resident artist transforming classrooms into a creative space to learn in, using den building techniques. I worked with the artist Cathy Cross to document the process.

Masquerade

Tate Galleries

I worked with young people from GYRO to see how the responded toTate's Keith Haring exhibition through interactive workshops they took part in with artist Jake Ryan.

The work presented in Tate Exchange explored the various ways that young LGBTQ+ people express themselves. The young people wanted to share that their LGBTQ+ identities are very important to them and that they do not exist in isolation from the rest of their identity.

Visitors to Tate Exchange were encouraged to explore their own identities through a series of activities.

Lowry Town

East Prescot Road Nursery

I worked with lead artist Denise Wright and storyteller Gav Cross. As filmmaker and graphic designer on this process, I worked with Denise to turn the children's artwork into a storybook. I also documented the process with video and animated the book into a short film.

To seee the film, please click the link in the description above.

Tunnel Vision

Theatre Porto

I worked with young people from Ellesmere Port, many of whom were encountering filmmaking for the first time, to create this short film. They developed the story, acted in it, and took on crew roles behind the scenes.

The film highlights the condition of the underpasses connecting the town to the waterfront and the National Waterways Museum. These spaces are poorly lit and feel unsafe. In that environment, even everyday encounters can feel unsettling.

The Great Horsey Jump-Off

Theatre Porto

I devised this activity and performance with Theatre Porto.

Presented by Mister Clopp with his two marshals, The Great Horsey Jump Off is a fun-filled, theatrical take on the familiar ‘show jumping competition’, except in this scenario, it’s hobby horses doing all the work and everybody is a winner!

Spectators of all ages, are invited to grab a hobby horse, give them some special horsey features and become competitors! Expertly guided through the hobby-horse course which includes vertical jumps, a slo-mo strip and a funky, disco dance floor, the whole spectacle is brilliantly compared by our seasoned sporting professional who will provide all the wit and commentary!

This is available to book via Theatre Porto

Big Daft Heads

Theatre Porto

As part of this post-Covid project, we worked outdoors in Whitby Park with a group of young people to create a series of oversized, ridiculous headpieces. These became the starting point for a playful photography project. I wanted to give a nod to some of the cliches of how young people are often represented in the media and advertising, but with big daft heads on!

The aim was to be humorous and imaginative, allowing young people to occupy public space in friendly and unexpected ways. The result was a joyful mix of parody, performance and visual disruption.

Tiny Worlds

This project ran alongside Once Upon A Time and was created just as the theatre was about to open its doors for the very first time. Around thirty empty shoeboxes were offered to schools, community groups and theatre colleagues, each one becoming the starting point for a tiny imagined world.

Participants were invited to fill their boxes with whatever they liked - paper, fabric, found objects, miniatures, and to light them theatrically with LED lights. Drawing on memories, daydreams, stories and places that mattered to them, each shoebox became a window into a different way of seeing the world.

The idea was simple: if a shoebox can hold a world, then so can a theatre. Like the black box stage itself, these containers became spaces of transformation—proof that imagination needs very little to take flight.

Together, the collection formed a miniature landscape of dreams, celebrating the creative potential of every person who took part.

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About Me

Hi, I’m Jake – a community artist, filmmaker and performer based in North Wales. I work across film, photography, visual art, theatre and installation, creating collaborative projects that are accessible, playful, and rooted in meaning.

My practice, which spans nearly 30 years, is grounded in participation, inclusion and access to creativity. I often work in schools, community settings and cultural spaces with children, young people, families and adults - including people with learning disabilities and those who are neurodivergent. I aim to create welcoming environments where people feel able to take part, explore ideas and express themselves in ways that feel natural to them.

I trained in Community Arts at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, with a background in theatre. Over time, my practice has developed through working closely with artists, educators and organisations across a wide range of projects. I stay flexible and responsive, adapting to each context while staying open to new ideas and approaches. Collaboration is at the heart of what I do, and I’m always learning from the people I work alongside.

As well as leading participatory projects, I also document creative work through film and photography - capturing performances, workshops and events in ways that reflect the atmosphere, relationships and energy of the moment.

I’ve developed projects with organisations including Tate Galleries, Arts Council Wales, People First Merseyside and Theatre Porto, and I continue to be inspired by the imagination, generosity and insight that people bring to creative work.

I'm Jake. I deliver collaborative art projects shaped by the people I work with and the places we work in My work spans film, performance, photography, visual art and installation, creating playful, participatory experiences that celebrate creativity, voice, and difference.

Projects

About Me

I'm Jake.

I deliver collaborative art projects shaped by the people I work with and the places we work in

My work spans film, performance, photography, visual art and installation, creating playful, participatory experiences that celebrate creativity, voice, and difference.